HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College baseball team (17-17, 7-7 CC) split a doubleheader with Franklin & Marshall (23-13, 10-4 CC) on Saturday at Kannerstein Field, prevailing 4-3 in the first game, before the Diplomats responded for a 13-6 win in the second contest.
Haverford 4, Franklin & Marshall 3
The first contest of the day was a snappy, fast-paced duel between two premiere hurlers as Josh Fuller matched up with Kyle Roche of F&M. Each pitcher tossed a complete game, with Fuller getting the better hand from the 2021 Centennial Conference Pitcher of the Year. Fuller scattered six hits and did not while fanning eight Diplomats in his second complete game effort of the season. F&M got on the scoreboard first, pushing a run across on a double-play grounder off the bat of Evan Varga after Patrick Cettina reached on an error and Andrew Fillipelli singled. The Fords tagged Roche in the fourth inning.
Jack Wallis pushed a single through the right side, and Kyle Beach followed with a single of his own, moving Wallis to third. A sacrifice bunt from Becker brought Wallis home, and after Jonny Flieder singled, Chuck Norton added another RBI bunt with pinch runner Jordan Shand coming into to score. Zach Crampton then drilled a double into the right-center field gap to extend the Haverford lead to 3-1.
Crampton grounded into a double play of his own in the sixth, with Becker coming in to score to put Haverford up 4-1. Fuller was in full control with a perfect sixth frame before working through traffic in the seventh. After a 1-2-3 eighth, Fuller came back out for the ninth.
Drew Butera was hit by a pitch, and Jacob Hoffman singled to lead off the frame. Spencer Berson reached on an error, and Patrick Cettina then punched another double play grounder to trim the Haverford lead to two. Another error put the Diplomats back within one, but Fuller sealed the deal, getting pinch hitter Michael von Zuben swinging to end the contest and send the Fords to a big win.
Becker and Flieder each had two-hit days for the Fords, while Crampton, Wallis, and Beach all added one. The story of the game was Fuller on the mound, as struck out eight against the Diplomats.
Franklin & Marshall 13, Haverford 6
Game two was a different kind of contest, with F&M flexing some home run power to put things out of reach for the Fords.
Haverford pushed the first run across against Dan Galef in the bottom of the first inning. Harry Genth doubled into left center, and came in to score on Beach's double deposited into left field. The Diplomats tagged August Williams for five runs in the second, as Berson connected on a three run homer, but Haverford went back to work offensively with Chuck Norton adding an RBI double as part of a huge sixth inning for the Fords. Haverford scored in three consecutive at-bats as Crampton followed with a sacrifice fly before Pranav Rane notched a single to trim the F&M lead to just one at 6-5.
Unfortunately for Haverford, a big seventh inning helped put things out of reach for the visitors. The big hit in the frame was Filippell's grand slam that established an 11-5 advantage for the Diplomats. F&M grabbed a pair of insurance runs before Daniel Rosman's sac fly in the ninth pulled one back for the Fords. Norton and Rane each had two hits to key the Haverford offense in game two.
Wyatt Mattison had a solid turn out of the bullpen, allowing just one earned run and striking out five in five innings of work. Ethan Goldstein and Mitchell Pagano combined for 1.2 innings of scoreless relief with two strikeouts.
The Fords will now head to Hood Trophy rival Swarthmore on Tuesday, taking on the Garnet at 3:30 p.m. as the chase for a CC tournament berth heats up. The home-and-home series with the Garnet concludes on Friday, April 28 at home.